Wall Street Slides as Tech Stocks Drop; Walmart Hits $1 Trillion Milestone

A sharp rotation out of technology weighed on U.S. markets, dragging the Nasdaq lower while strength in gold and retail stocks helped limit broader losses.

The Nasdaq slumped 336.92 points (1.4%) to 23,255.19, the S&P 500 slid 58.63 points (0.8%) to 6,917.81 and the Dow fell 166.67 points (0.3%) to 49,240.99.

A rotation out of technology stocks led to notable weakness on Wall Street, highlighted by a sharp drop in the Nasdaq. Software stocks were among the hardest hit, with the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index sliding 3.5% to a nine-month low despite a 6.9% jump in Palantir Technologies after strong quarterly results and upbeat guidance. Semiconductor stocks also declined, as seen in the 2.1% fall in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index while NXP Semiconductors dropped 4.5% even after beating earnings estimates.

In contrast, retail shares gained from the tech selloff, with Walmart surging 2.9% to cross a $1 trillion market capitalization for the first time. AJ Bell head of markets Dan Coatsworth noted that Walmarts milestone underscores the markets shift away from tech, as the retail giant joins an elite club previously dominated by technology firms and Berkshire Hathaway.

Gold stocks saw considerable strength amid a significant rebound by the price of the precious metal, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index spiking by 4.4%. Steel, energy and housing stocks also moved notably higher on the day, helping to limit the downside for the broader markets.

Asia-Pacific stocks moved notably higher. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index soared by 3.9%, while China's Shanghai Composite Index surged by 1.3%. the major European markets moved to the downside over the course of the session while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index dipped by 0.3%, the German DAX Index edged down by 0.1% and the French CAC 40 Index closed just below the unchanged line.

In the bond market, treasuries closed roughly flat after seeing modest weakness for much of the day. The yield on the benchmark ten-year note which moves opposite of its price, edged down by less than a basis point to 4.27% after reaching a high of 4.30%.

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